Polar shift: It is the name for a phenomenon that may have occurred many times in the past. At the very least, it disorients birds and animals and damages electrical equipment. At its worst, it causes massive eruptions, earthquakes, and climatic changes. At its very worst, it would mean the obliteration of all living matter, and if that happens - exit Earth. Sixty years ago, aHungarian genius discovered how to artificially trigger such a shift, but then his work was lost. Or so it was thought....

The Navigator: A Novel from the NUMA Files

Years ago, an ancient Phoenician statue, known as the Navigator, was stolen from the Baghdad Museum, and there are men who would do anything to get their hands on it. Their first victim is a crooked antiquities dealer, murdered in cold blood. Their second, very nearly, is a UN investigator who, were it not for the timely assistance of Austin and Zavala, would now be at the bottom of a watery grave.

Lost City: A Kurt Austin Adventure

An enzyme that will dramatically prolong life has been discovered 2,000 feet down in the North Atlantic, in an area known as "Lost City". But why are the people attempting to harvest it getting killed? Why are the scientists in a remote Greek laboratory disappearing one by one? To Kurt Austin, leader of NUMA's Special Assignments Team, and his colleague Joe Zavala, it's clear they have their work cut out for them, but it may be even bigger than they think.

Medusa: A Kurt Austin Adventure

In the Micronesian Islands, a top secret, U.S. government- sponsored undersea lab conducting vital biomedical research on a rare jellyfish known as the Blue Medusa suddenly disappears. At the same time, off Bermuda, a bathysphere is attacked by an underwater vehicle and left helpless a half mile below the surface, its passengers -i ncluding Zavala - left to die. Only Kurt Austin's heroic measures save them, but, suspecting a connection, Austin puts the NUMA(r) team on the case.

Devil's Gate: A Novel from the NUMA Files

A Japanese cargo ship cruises the eastern Atlantic near the Azores- when it bursts into flames. A gang of pirates speeds to take advantage of the disaster- when their boat explodes. What is happening in that part of the world? As Kurt Austin, Joe Zavala, and the rest of the NUMA(r) Special Assignments Team rush to investigate, they find themselves drawn into the extraordinary ambitions of an African dictator, the creation of a weapon of almost mythical power, and an unimaginably audacious plan to extort the world's major nations. Their penalty for refusal?

The Storm: A Novel from the Numa Files

In the middle of the Indian Ocean, a NUMA research vessel is taking water samples at sunset, when a crew member spots a sheen of black oil ahead of them. But it is not oil. Like a horde of army ants, a swarm of black particles suddenly attacks the ship, killing everyone aboard, while the ship itself goes up in flames. A few hours later, Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala are on their way to the Indian Ocean. What they will find there will eventually lead them to the discovery of the most audacious scheme they have ever known....

Zero Hour: A Novel from the NUMA Files, Book 11

The dazzling new novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from the grand master of adventure. It is called zero point energy - a state of energy contained in all matter everywhere, and thus all but unlimited. Nobody has ever found a way to tap into it, however - until one scientist discovers a way. The problem is, his machines also cause great earthquakes. If Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala and the rest of the NUMA team aren't able to find and destroy them, and soon, the world will be on the threshold of a new era of earth tremors and unchecked volcanism.

Ghost Ship: NUMA Files, Book 12

When Kurt Austin is injured attempting to rescue the passengers and crew from a sinking yacht, he wakes with fragmented and conflicted memories. Did he see an old friend and her children drown? Or was the yacht abandoned when he came aboard? For reasons he cannot explain, Kurt doesn't trust either version of his recollection.

Piranha

In 1902 the volcano Mt. Pelée erupts on the island of Martinique, wiping out an entire city of 30,000 - and sinking a ship carrying a German scientist on the verge of an astonishing breakthrough. More than a century later, Juan Cabrillo will have to deal with that scientist's legacy.

The Solomon Curse

There are many rumors about the bay off Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. Some say it was the site of the lost empire of the Solomon king and that great treasure lies beneath the waters. Others say terrible things happened here, atrocities and disappearances at the hands of cannibal giants, and those who venture there do not return. It is cursed. Which is exactly what attracts the attention of husband-and-wife treasure-hunting team Sam and Remi Fargo. How could they resist?

Arctic Drift

A potential breakthrough discovery to reverse global warming...a series of unexplained sudden deaths in British Columbia...a rash of international incidents between the United States and one of its closest allies that threatens to erupt into an actual shooting war...NUMA director Dirk Pitt and his children, Dirk. Jr. and Summer, have reason to believe there's a connection here somewhere, but they also know they have very little time to find it before events escalate out of control.

Plague Ship: A Novel of the Oregon Files

Clive Cussler returns with a new novel in his New York Times best-selling Oregon Files, as Captain Juan Cabrillo and the motley crew of his high-tech spy ship take on their most extraordinary - and lethal - mission yet. Captain Juan Cabrillo finds a derelict cruise ship full of hundreds of corpses - the victims of the Responsivists, a group attempting to control the world's population by means of a deadly virus.

Dark Watch

Juan Cabrillo and his motley crew aboard the clandestine spy ship Oregon have made a very comfortable and very dangerous living working for high-powered Western interests. But their newest clients have come from the Far East to ask for Cabrillo's special brand of assistance: a consortium of Japanese shipping magnates whose fortunes are being threatened by brutal pirates trolling the waters of Southeast Asia.

Trojan Odyssey: A Dirk Pitt Novel

Long hailed as the grand master of adventure fiction, Clive Cussler has continued to astound with the intricate plotting and astonishing set pieces of his novels. Now, with a surprising twist, he gives us his most audacious work yet.

Corsair: A Novel of the Oregon Files

When the U.S. secretary of state's plane crashes while bringing her to a summit meeting in Libya, the CIA, distrusting the Libyans, hires Juan Cabrillo to search for her, and their misgivings are well founded. The crew locates the plane, but the secretary of state has vanished. It turns out Libya's new foreign minister has other plans for the conference, plans that Cabrillo cannot let happen.

Black Wind

In the waning days of World War II, the Japanese tried a last desperate measure, a different kind of kamikaze mission, this one carried out by two submarines bound for the west coast of the United States, their cargo a revolutionary new strain of deadly virus.

The Silent Sea: A Novel of the Oregon Files

On December 7, 1941, five brothers exploring a shaft on a small island off the coast of Washington State make an extraordinary discovery, only to be interrupted by news of Pearl Harbor. In the present, Cabrillo, chasing the remnants of a crashed satellite in the Argentine jungle, stumbles upon a shocking revelation of his own.

Skeleton Coast

Juan Cabrillo and the crew of the covert combat ship Oregon have barely escaped a mission on the Congo River when they intercept a mayday from a defenseless boat under fire off the African coast. Cabrillo takes action, saving the beautiful Sloane Macintyre - who's looking for a long-submerged ship that may hold a fortune in diamonds. But what surprises Cabrillo is her story about a crazy fisherman who claims to have been attacked on the open sea by giant metal snakes in the same area.

Havana Storm: A Dirk Pitt Adventure, Book 23

While investigating a toxic outbreak in the Caribbean Sea that may ultimately threaten the United States, Pitt unwittingly becomes involved in something even more dangerous - a post-Castro power struggle for the control of Cuba. Meanwhile, Pitt's children, marine engineer Dirk and oceanographer Summer, are on an investigation of their own, chasing an Aztec stone that may reveal the whereabouts of a vast historical Aztec treasure.

Publisher's Summary

Polar shift: It is the name for a phenomenon that may have occurred many times in the past. At the very least, it disorients birds and animals and damages electrical equipment. At its worst, it causes massive eruptions, earthquakes, and climatic changes. At its very worst, it would mean the obliteration of all living matter, and if that happens - exit Earth.

Sixty years ago, an eccentric Hungarian genius discovered how to artificially trigger such a shift, but then his work was lost, or so it was thought. Now, the charismatic leader of an anti-globalization group plans to use the work to give the world's industrialized nations a small jolt, then reverse the shift back again. The only problem is, it cannot be reversed. Once the shift starts, there is nothing anyone can do about it.

Austin, Zavala, and the rest of the NUMA Special Assignments Team certainly have faced dire situations before, but never have they encountered anything like this. This time...even they may be too late.

What the Critics Say

"Scott Brick is a terrific reader who employs convincing accents for Austrians like Karl Schroeder and the other multinationals on NUMA's team. He masterfully uses a variety of speech patterns and delivers strong dialogue in a rich baritone, booming sometimes and pulling back when needed. Brick's presentation lends drama and reality to this wildly improbable plot. Action-packed and explosively tense, the novel, with its rich cast of characters, creates a compelling listening adventure." (AudioFile)

Cussler takes us lots of places. It's a modern-day thriller. I had two big problems with it. The "science" behind the plot was too far-out, and they don't speak Spanish in Rio de Janeiro. The narrator was above average.

I think this would have made two great books! One about the polar shift, getting just a little closer to disaster and a book about the mammot he's and possibly other animals. As always so close to what could possibly happen tomorrow.

I have listened and read most of Cusslers novels and found them to be exciting and entertaining.However herds of dwarf Mammoths in an underground city is beyond my imagination.Too much dialogue and ridicuolous circumstances make it a zero.Great narrator.The plot might entertain a 10 yr old.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narrarator is great.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Only if they really wanted to complete their Cussler collection. It was a decent book, but not one of Cussler's better stories, in my opinion. I found the plot line more unbelievable than usual, and didn't think that the villians were "bad" enough.

This was my first Kurt Austin book, and I would have to put him at the bottom of my Cussler-Hero Power Rankings as of November 2012: Bell, Pitt, Cabrillo, Fargo, Pitt Jr., Austin.

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